Her Majesty's Witch
by Rhithlun
Summary: The prime minister might not be the only muggle with interest in the magical world. H/Hr, starts at the beginning of winter break Fifth year, AU from there
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing :)

AN: Canon up to winter break of fifth year.

"Mum?" called a voice, sounding exasperated.

"Yes dear?" Rose Granger looked up at her only daughter, suppressing a smile.

"D'you know where all my old skiing stuff is? I can't find a thing, and I've got half a mind to just Accio it all." replied Hermione, with a huff.

Rose rolled her eyes. Her daughter was as organized as her father, and went spare every time she came home and couldn't find everything she needed.

"You're perfectly welcome to, except for the fact you're not quite legal yet darling," she said fondly.

"Well, technically Mum -"

Rose interjected "Let me rephrase that. You can't start summoning things without explaining certain things to your father and the Ministry, which I don't think you want to do."

Hermione looked chagrined. She had shared some of the events of the past few years with her mother, like the excessive(at least in Rose's opinion) use of a time turner in her third year that added 10 months to her age, making her magically an adult. However, the two of them had agreed that under the current circumstances with the government and the Order, it was safer for Hermione to keep that little tidbit of information to herself.

Rose Granger, although she was a muggle, had made it a point to keep up with her daughters adventures ever since Hermione had returned half a year ago shaken by the return of a madman. She had made a deal with her: disclosure of everything that had happened and everything that happened from that point in order for Hermione to stay with her friends that summer. Her daughter often teased her by saying that if Rose had gone to Hogwarts, she would have been a Slytherin, and she wasn't far off.

"Anyway dear, it's all up in the attic. We moved it up there when we redid the spare room."

"Oh, okay. Thanks."

Hermione Granger had become used to clutter and dark places over the summer at Grimmauld Place. While it was unlikely that any of the things up here were cursed, she wouldn't put it past her mother to have stored some thing equally dangerous.

The clothes were easy enough to find, but as she turned back towards the entrance she felt something odd.

Something magical.

After being friends with Harry and Ron for four years, Hermione felt an urge to go investigate it. Though the logical side of her advised against it, the rebellious side that had been cooped up for so long decided to sod it and check it out. She was almost pulled towards a small wooden chest that she had never seen before. A closer inspection showed that it had been intricately carved with runes, a few of which she could recognize right away. An attempt to pry open the lid proved to be useless, but some of the runic patterns looked familiar, as if she had seen them before.

Hermione grabbed the clothes, and quickly took them to her room. She then returned for the chest, which was surprisingly light, as if it had a featherweight charm on it, which was actually possible. She stared at the chest, trying to remember where she had seen the runes, running her hands along the sides. A small section felt strange under her hands, and she pushed the spot, causing a small drawer to pop out of the side.

It was engraved with picture of what looked like a knight, dagger in hand, kneeling in front of a castle. The picture reminded Hermione of a story her mother had told her years ago.

She ran downstairs, her mind racing a mile a minute. Something magical in her house, connected to a story her mother had told her. As soon as she walked into the parlor, she opened her mouth, only to close it as she registered the presence of her father.

Although Rose Granger was very supportive of magic, Dr. Robert Granger didn't necessarily share that view point. As academic as Hermione, he was a man of science, but more than that, he was a father. He had pushed her to leave Hogwarts after the incident with the basilisk, and it was only intervention from both her mother and Professor McGonagall that stopped that from happening. Hermione would have normally told her mother about the chest, but she had a distinct feeling her father would not approve. Rose, though she had her misgivings about magic, had realized it was better to accept the circumstances and know the truth, then stay in the dark, but her husband didn't necessarily agree.

"Not packed then? Your mother was just mentioning that we had a case of missing ski clothes on our hands." said Robert, smiling fondly at his daughter.

"I found them actually, though I'm surprised I did in that chaos Mum calls an attic" replied Hermione, smiling at him.

"Now hang on you two, is that a request to clean out the attic? Because as I recall, there is a great deal of books up there that belong to certain people that I can easily get rid off," said Rose, giving her husband a look.

Robert hastily backtracked "I think it fine, love. Nothing that needs to be fixed."

Hermione laughed at her parents. "Actually Mum, I had a question about something, a story I remember you telling me. About a knight, a castle, and a dagger."

Rose looked thoughtful "I think it's a fairytale from a book of my mother's. I don't remember it, but I'll see if I can find it."

"Thanks Mum."


	2. Bad Moon Rising

Hermione had just finished packing away her ski clothes when she heard a knock on her door. Her mum walked in holding a slim leather book, which Hermione had never seen. Which was strange, since she had read pretty much every book in the house.

Rose was looking at the book with a strange expression. "You know, until you mentioned it, I had forgotten about this book. How did you even remember that story?"

"It er, just came to me. It's similar to something I heard at school, so I thought I should try to compare them. It might come in handy for the OWLs for History of Magic or something."

Her mum handed over the book. The cover was made of pitch black leather with gold designs that appeared similar to Celtic knots. Hermione flipped through the book, and bit back a gasp, struggling to hide her surprise. The drawing on one of the first pages was an exact match of the engraving she had found earlier.

-

Hermione managed to get her mother to leave quickly, who was thankfully distracted enough over the book to not protest. She finished it right before midnight, probably a record.

Most of the book chronicled the day to day affairs of a kingdom as told by a knight, but one section of the story connected to the picture. The kingdom had become engulfed into a war with a dark lord and his armies, who based on the book, may have been the one to create or at least find dementors. The entire kingdom was under constant attack, and known magic users were quickly targeted. Eventually, the only one left was a young woman who served the king. She stayed by his side, protecting him from magical harm. The king also used her for certain missions, and to find information from the magical refugees. While at the castle, she fell in love with a knight, and the two had a child near the beginning of the war

The dark lord was intrigued by the woman, who possessed enough power and intellect to be a valuable resource for him. He tried to get her to come over to his side, but she refused, staying by the king. He, angered by her actions, had his men find the knight. He had the dementors steal his happiness and hope, and then used an illusion to make him think that his wife and child were dead. Overcome with grief, he stabbed himself, dying outside the walls of the castle.

When the woman discovered her dead husband, she used a ritual that was not explained in the book, which only mentioned its name - Phaleras Lunae. She brewed something similar to Polyjuice, which lasted from sunset to sunrise, and stole away into his camp. Under the light of the moon, she slew the dark lord with the same dagger her husband had used. In the process, she was cursed by him, with a wound that would kill her when the sun rose.

She returned to the castle, no longer bound to hide from the dark, and sought the king. She gave him her child, and told him that the child would be the connection between the two. Then she traveled to the site of the knight's death, and used her life force and magic to bind wards to the wall that no magic user could enter with ill intentions, unless one of her blood allowed it.

Though the book included much more beyond this tale, of the history of the castle and its inhabitants, Hermione knew this is what she had searched for. Somehow, the chest she had found and this tale were connected.

She ran her hands over the chest, and then walked over to her desk to pick up something. Fingering the lock, she sighed. Then, with a forceful motion, she cut her thumb with her pen knife, and watched as three drops of blood fell on the lock.

-

AN: I know this is really really short, but I've been sick for the past ten days, and I haven't been able to write much. Also, I'm curious as to what you all think... Next chapter will be up Monday, so it won't be too long from now!And it'll be quite a bit longer, so that might make up for this one. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed this story, it means a lot!


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